This Morning presenter Rylan Clark looked back on his years working on the ITV programme, after being away from the show for six months.
Rylan Clark opened up about his time on This Morning (Image: ITV)
Rylan Clark has opened up about his long-running involvement with This Morning. The presenter first joined the show in 2013, following his rise to fame on The X Factor. Since then, he has returned to the programme on multiple occasions.
Most recently, he appeared over the Easter holidays, hosting alongside Emma Willis. Ahead of returning to screens, the 37-year-old was asked about his break away from the show, to which he explained: “I mean I’m back, I sort of go on whenever I can to be honest.
“I was in the Maldives in January and then I come back and did one day, because I could only do a day that week. Then [I did] three days over Easter. I did This Morning for so long and I loved it, like every single day, and then I sort of left for a while and now it’s nice to just pop back in.”
He added: “[I] do like one day here, two days there, maybe even a week if I’ve got the time.”
Rylan Clark, with Emma Willis, fronted the show over Easter (Image: ITV)
While appearing on the Tea with Nan podcast, Rylan also briefly discussed co-host Ben Shephard, who presents the show four days a week alongside Cat Deeley.
“Ben is lovely. He’s a lovely boy,” he said, before noting that the presenter is from Romford, Essex.
The This Morning discussion comes after Rylan attracted controversy over his comments about immigration during a news segment on the show.
While discussing mass deportation proposals put forward by Nigel Farage, he shared his perspective on the issue.
He said: “The UK is built on immigration. Legal immigration – a lot of the nurses, the doctors that have saved my mum’s life, have come over here from other countries. They’re living a great life, they’re paying into this tax system, they’re helping this country thrive.
“I find it absolutely insane that all these people are risking their lives coming across the Channel. And when they get here, it does seem, and I think this is why a lot of Labour voters as well are saying there’s something wrong, it feels like, ‘Welcome, come on in’.”
Rylan Clark shared his thoughts on Ben Shephard (Image: ITV)
He continued: “That’s the narrative we’re being fed. Here’s the iPad. Here’s the NHS in reception of your hotel. Here’s three meals a day. Here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome.”
Rylan went on to say: “There are people that have lived here all their lives that are struggling. They’re homeless. Let’s not even discuss our homeless. There are people living on the streets, veterans, all of this.”
His comments prompted 702 Ofcom complaints and many calls for him to leave the programme. However, this did not jeopardise his role on the show.
After a six-month break from the programme, he returned in February alongside Emma.
Alongside his television work, Rylan also hosts a Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 2, presents Dating Naked UK, and co-hosts the travel series Rob and Rylan’s Passage to India with Robert Rinder.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITVX.
